Peanut Free Cassava Flour Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Sweet, tangy, and deeply savory all at once, these meatballs hit every note you want from a classic sweet and sour dish — without a single drop of anything that could trigger a peanut allergy concern. Ground beef gets seasoned with garlic, fresh ginger, and turmeric before being seared and baked to juicy perfection, giving you that golden crust with a fully cooked center. The sauce is where things get genuinely exciting: pineapple juice, sweet potato purée, apple cider vinegar, honey, and coconut aminos come together into something glossy, bright, and complex in a way that feels almost too good for a weeknight. Arrowroot starch thickens it beautifully, and the fresh pineapple chunks stirred in at the end add little bursts of sweetness that make every bite feel a little celebratory. Because the whole dish is built from whole-food ingredients you control, there's no need to squint at a label wondering whether a sauce packet was processed near tree nuts or legumes. Cassava flour binds the meatballs without any of the usual allergen baggage, keeping the texture tender and the ingredient list clean. Finish with a scatter of scallions and serve straight from the skillet — this one disappears fast.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
- 2 tbsp cassava flour
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
For the sauce
- 1 cup pineapple juice (unsweetened)
- ⅓ cup sweet potato purée
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tsp arrowroot starch
- 1 tbsp cold water
- 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks (about 1-inch pieces)
For serving
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- 2
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, cassava flour, 2 tbsp coconut aminos, garlic, 1 tsp grated ginger, salt, and turmeric. Mix with your hands until just combined — do not overwork the meat. Roll into balls about 1½ inches in diameter (roughly 20–22 meatballs) and arrange on the prepared baking sheet.
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